ko im reports. >> reporter: a view of the research ship is a big white lie. while it appears that the boat is sitting high and dry on a snowy field, it is, in fact, on the ocean, the frozen antarctic ocean. 74 scientists, journalists, and crew are aboard the ship which left new zealand last month. the mission was to retrace the 1911 journey of an australian explorer douglas mawson. they were exploring and stopped cold on tuesday. it's very cold in the southern hemisphere, but when you're this far south, blizzards are a year-round threat. temperatures are well below zero. scientist chris tierney is tracking this expedition. >> we have wind speeds on average of 50 kilometers an hour reaching in excess of 70 kilometers an hour. the vessel hasn't moved for the last two days. >> reporter: three ice breaker ships are making their way to the ice-locked vessel, but tearily told cbs news via skype the passengers are prepared. >> we've got a couple of weeks of fresh food and on top of that if things get really bad, we've got three weeks of glorious hydrated food. >> ko